The Dictionary of Lost Words

the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day, she sees a slip containing the word bondmaid flutter to the floor unclaimed. Esme seizes the word and hides it in an old wooden trunk that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.

Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. She begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape our experience of the world.

Table of Contents

About the Author

Tom Keneally

Copyright

Title

Dedication

Prologue

Part 1

May 1887

April 1888

April 1891

August 1893

September 1896

Part 2

August 1897

April 1898

September 1898

August 1901

Part 3

May 1902

May 1906

June 1906

December 1906

March 1907

Part 4

September 1907

November 1907

November 1908

May 1909

December 1912

January 1913

May 1913

Part 5

August 1914

May 1915

July 1915

September 1915

Part 6

November 1928

Epilogue

Author’s note

Acknowledgements

Timeline Of The Oxford English Dictionary

Timeline Of Major Historical Events Featured In The Novel

Back Cover